US immigration agents, protesters clash after LA raids, Trump says govt may step in as tense scenes unfold
Tensions soared in Los Angeles as immigration authorities and protesters continued to face off for the second day on Saturday. The protests were being held against immigration enforcement raids in the Los Angeles area.
The tense standoff took place in the suburb of Paramount, about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. The New York Times reported that protesters clashed with federal immigration agents by a Home Depot near a residential area where many Latinos live.
The standoff came a day after masked and armed immigration agents carried out high-profile workplace raids in separate parts of Los Angeles, attracting angry crowds and setting off hours-long standoffs.
According to the Associated Press, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers executed search warrants at multiple locations on Friday, including outside a clothing warehouse in the fashion district.
Representatives for Homeland Security Investigations and the US Attorney's Office said the action came after a judge found probable cause that the employer was using fictitious documents for some of its workers.
The Guardian reported that masked agents were recorded pulling several people out of two LA-area Home Depot stores and the clothing manufacturer Ambient Apparel's headquarters in LA's Fashion District.
Immigration advocates said the raids also included four other locations, including a doughnut shop.
A tense scene unfolded outside as a crowd tried to block agents from driving away.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that recent ICE operations in Los Angeles resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants, including five people linked to criminal organisations and people with prior criminal histories.
Following the Friday arrests, protesters gathered in the evening outside a federal detention center, chanting, 'Set them free, let them stay!'
On Saturday, amid chants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to get out, some protestors waved Mexican flags while others set a US flag on fire, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Tear gas and smoke filled the air on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles on Saturday as confrontations between immigration authorities and demonstrators extended into a second da
Flash-bang grenades were shot into the crowd and part of a freeway was shut amid raids on undocumented migrants. Cement blocks and overturned shopping carts served as crude roadblocks.
Meanwhile, Border Patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks stood guard outside an industrial park in the city of Paramount, deploying tear gas as bystanders and protesters gathered on medians and across the street.
US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday the US federal government would 'step in and solve the problem," with his border czar threatening to deploy the National Guard.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform, referring to Governor Gavin Newsom by a pejorative name, "If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs, which everyone knows they can't, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!"
Gov. Gain Newsom said the federal government was 'moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers' and warned that it would only escalate tensions. 'This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust,' Newsom was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted a message on social media addressing 'LA rioters'. She said, "A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down. @ICEgov will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Following the latest clashes in Los Angeles, authorities vowed to prosecute offenders and warned of an escalating security presence, AFP news reported.
"We are making Los Angeles safer. Mayor (Karen) Bass should be thanking us," Tom Homan, Trump's point man on border security, said on Fox News. "We are going to bring the National Guard in tonight," he added.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said multiple arrests had been made following Friday's clashes. "You bring chaos, and we'll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail," he said on X.
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